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Parliamentary Elections 2005 AZERBAIJAN: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 2005 Report by Jeremy Franklin NORDEM Report 02/2006 Copyright: the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights/NORDEM and Jeremy Franklin. NORDEM, the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights, is a programme of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), and has as its main objective to actively promote international human rights. NORDEM is jointly administered by NCHR and the Norwegian Refugee Council. NORDEM works mainly in relation to multilateral institutions. The operative mandate of the programme is realised primarily through the recruitment and deployment of qualified Norwegian personnel to international assignments which promote democratisation and respect for human rights. The programme is responsible for the training of personnel before deployment, reporting on completed assignments, and plays a role in research related to areas of active involvement. The vast majority of assignments are channelled through the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. NORDEM Report is a series of reports documenting NORDEM activities and is published jointly by NORDEM and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. Series editor: Siri Skåre Series consultants: Hege Mørk, Ingvild Burkey, Christian Boe Astrup The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. ISSN: 1503–1330 ISBN/13 : 978- 82- 8158- 012- 1 ISBN/10 : 82 – 8158 -012 -7 NORDEM Report is available online at: http://www.humanrights.uio.no/forskning/publ/publikasjonsliste.html Preface Following an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan to observe the 6 November parliamentary elections, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights decided to deploy an election observation mission (EOM) to Azerbaijan. The EOM was preceded by a Needs Assessment Mission (NAM), which on 5-10 June 2005 assessed the conditions for an OSCE/ODIHR EOM and advised on the modalities for the establishment of an EOM. It recommended on the establishment of an EOM and requested OSCE participating states to second 28 long-term observers, and 500 short-term observers for election day. On 5 September the EOM was officially opened in Baku. The EOM was headed by Ambassador Geert-Hinrich Ahrens from Germany. The EOM core team consisted of 12 election experts. On 12 September 30 long-term observers (LTO) joined the EOM and were deployed throughout Azerbaijan on 13 September. Core team members and LTOs were recruited from 19 OSCE participating states. Close to election day on 6 November, the EOM became the International EOM as it was joined by parliamentary groups from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the European Parliament (EP) and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA). On election day some 650 international short-term observers (STO) (including parliamentarians) from 42 OSCE participating countries observed the opening of polling stations, the voting process, the vote count, and tabulation at Constituency Election Commissions. In all, observers visited some 2,500 out of 5,053 polling stations. Two Norwegian LTOs, Kenneth de Figueiredo and Jeremy Franklin, were recruited to the mission by the Norwegian Resource Bank for Democracy and Human Rights (NORDEM). Mr de Figueiredo was deployed to Tovuz in north-western Azerbaijan, while Mr Franklin was deployed to Lankaran in the South. In addition, NORDEM seconded five STOs for election day: Tobias Svenningsen (deployed to Nakhchivan), Tone Thingbø (Masalli), Stine Münter (Shamaki), Heidi Sødergren (Balakan) and Petter Eide (Ismayili). The main purpose of this report is to present the findings of the Norwegian observers. Their observations correspond to those of the EOM as a whole as represented in the EOM’s interim reports and the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions issued on 7 November. The Norwegian Centre for Human Rights/NORDEM University of Oslo December 2005 Contents Preface Content Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 1 Political background ........................................................................................................................... 3 Previous elections........................................................................................................................... 3 Presentation of key political parties............................................................................................... 4 The Legislative Framework ............................................................................................................... 6 The Electoral Administration............................................................................................................. 8 Voter cards.................................................................................................................................... 10 Voter and Civic Education ............................................................................................................... 10 Voter Registration............................................................................................................................. 11 Voter ID ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Candidate registration....................................................................................................................... 12 The Election Campaign .................................................................................................................... 13 The Media ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Observation on the Polling Day ....................................................................................................... 16 Election Day Reports.................................................................................................................... 17 Election Day Report from STO Tobias Svenningsen ............................................................ 17 Election Day Report from STO Tone Thingbø ...................................................................... 18 Election Day Report from STO Stine Münter ........................................................................ 19 Election Day Report from STO Heidi Sødergren................................................................... 20 Election Day Report from STO Petter Eide............................................................................ 21 Election Day Report from LTO Kenneth de Figueiredo........................................................ 21 Election Day Report from LTO Jeremy Franklin................................................................... 22 The Review of Complaints Process ................................................................................................. 24 Conclusions and Recommendations................................................................................................ 25 Comments on the Election Observation Mission............................................................................ 27 Appendices........................................................................................................................................ 27 AZERBAIJAN: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS - 2005 1 Introduction The 2005 elections to the Milli Majlis (Parliament) scheduled for 6 November were the third parliamentary elections to be held since Azerbaijan became independent on 18 October 1991 and the first to be conducted on the basis of a new electoral system adopted in 2002. The OSCE/ODIHR, together with other international organisations, observed the parliamentary elections both in 1995 and in 2000. OSCE/ODIHR also observed presidential elections in 1998 and lastly in 2003. The presidential elections in 2003 fell short of a number of OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections and the OSCE/ODIHR EOM stated then that: “This election has been a missed opportunity for a genuinely democratic election process.” In connection with the establishment of the OSCE/ODIHR EOM in September 2005 for the 1 parliamentary elections the Head of the mission noted the following: “Important (OSCE) recommendations from previous election observation missions have not been fully implemented. A qualitative leap forward in the conduct of elections is now absolutely necessary and possible.” However, on 7 November the IEOM in its Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions remarked: “The 6 November parliamentary elections did not meet a number of OSCE commitments and Council of Europe standards and commitments for democratic elections. […] While voting was generally calm, the election day deteriorated progressively during the counting and, in particular, the tabulation of votes.” The EOM did note some positive aspects, notably State-funded media respected legal provisions regarding free airtime and facilitated televised debates; Most candidates were permitted to hold rallies and public meetings; The use of ink on E-day, a long-standing OSCE recommendation, was introduced, although at a very late stage; The distribution of new ID cards was welcomed as it can positively impact on future voter registration; Generally, election commissions operated in an open and
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